Hi Everyone, I had my TAH on June 12th because of a huge fibroid that enlarged my uterus to the size of a 5 month pregnancy. The fibroid was the size of a canteloupe.

My stomach went down a little after surgery but still hasn't gone down to the size it was before I got this stupid fibroid. I was wondering why this is? What could be causing it to remain so large? What can the Dr. or I to do to make it go down? How long before it goes back to pre-fibroid size? Will it ever?

Hi Everyone, I had my TAH on June 12th because of a huge fibroid that enlarged my uterus to the size of a 5 month pregnancy. The fibroid was the size of a canteloupe.

My stomach went down a little after surgery but still hasn't gone down to the size it was before I got this stupid fibroid. I was wondering why this is? What could be causing it to remain so large? What can the Dr. or I to do to make it go down? How long before it goes back to pre-fibroid size? Will it ever?

Unhappy and wondering why I went through all of this,

Jen

It's still too soon, volleyjen. My TAH was on May 8th due to a large fibroid that brought me to a 16 week pregnancy size. You'll go down but it takes a long time. I'm still puffy after more than 8 weeks, but my clothes from last summer that didn't fit, now fit me. I've lost weight since the surgery too. Be patient, you're at the "why don't I feel better yet" stage. It takes a full 6 - 8 weeks to start feeling somewhat normal again. And even after that you'll still get tired. Pamper yourself and you'll be surprised how great you're going to be feeling really soon!

hi, my uterus was 15 weeks size before my sub total abdo june 18, my dr said " do not expect your tummy to go flat !", i think, (ever), but i have to say, in the morning, it is way flatter than it was before, it was big above my belly button, now it is abit thick below my belly button, hoping that when i can exercise, it will go down, yoga is very good for the core.

hi! My tummy was 'only' ten week (uterus size of cantaloupe) and it is flatter than before the surgery but not flat (I am chubby so I cannot completely blame fibroids and srugery) It has been only three weeks so i still have hopes!

Mine was the size of a grapefruit but I had a tilted uterus already and the fibroid made it worse. So my stomach was quite distended.

After surgery, tummy was noticeably smaller.

Maybe there are a lot of variables that affect size? My fibroid wasn't as large as the ones mentioned here, but it interfered with normal urination and made me look 4 mo. pregnant.

Now, 2 weeks post-op, I have swelly belly and it's hard to compare any more. I FEEL so much better inside (ignoring the surgery pains).
I definitely can tell there is no longer a grapefruit inside of me.

Do you feel different?
I hope so. Give it time. I think we are all unique in the way we are built and how we heal.
Take care, I truly know how you feel! Nobody wants to look or feel pregnant with an abnormal growth!

I had TAH and uterus was largest my doc says he's ever had to remove - size of being 8 months pregnant and I had a tumor growing outside of uterus into abdominal cavity. So my poor distended belly didn't know what to do after surgery and even now (8 weeks post) it lets me know that indeed I can get a nice case of swelly belly!! My doc said to keep taking my fiber supplements - I use the clear stuff you can mix into anything - 4 x's a day and my belly will go down. Not sure if you know the entire procedure for TAH but it is pretty intense and a good majority of your internal organs are manipulated one way or the other. I can say that I have been able to wear clothes that haven't fit me since last summer and even bought some new ones a size smaller!! It's a slow healing process and I figure that slower is better than pushing it and causing a set back. I also have a zipper instead of bikini incision due to the size and location of my tumors.

I also decided to try some light belly supporter panties and they help when the swelly belly shows up - usually around 2:00 p.m. every day!! I'll take a swollen belly any day 'cuz it's a heckuva lot smaller than it was 2+ months ago!! Hang in there sisters!

Hi Lisa, 8 month size uterus, WOW! You must have been very uncomfortable. I was uncomfortable enough with my 5 month size uterus.

I don't really know everything the Dr.'s do when performing a TAH. I had to have stints in my ureters because of where my largest fibroid was located. Did you have to have that? Just curious. Those stints caused me more pain after they were removed than the incision did. I had a horrible backache for almost two weeks straight.

Anyway, I'm making sure that I get enough fiber. I'm sure that it's still swollen from everything that the Dr's did inside of me and that it will start to go down in a few weeks.... I hope all of you are right when you told me that.

I know what you're saying. I had a large tumour (20 cm) on my right ovary and two smaller cysts on my left which made me look like I had a full term pregnancy! Now 3 weeks post-op I look like 5 months pregnant, I'm hoping that my abdomen will go down in time. My surgeon said its quite normal for the abdomen to be swollen and could take some time to go down, I certainly hope so!!

Hey Volley....I am feeling great! I was pretty amazed at how big everything was inside me...I had my doc take a picture of the tumor outside my uterus - I was in shock when I saw it! (sorry TMI) I did not have to have stints - my doc thought it may be a probability but ended up to not be so - glad to hear you are feeling better! I had backache from hospital bed...once I got home it was better plus I got mobile pretty quickly and got my muscles working again. My belly gets swollen and tender and silly me wore a pair of pants that had no elastic in the waistband and boy did I pay for it last week! My DH was very understanding and got me ice to put on the swelling! Won't wear those pants for a while!